Damage, at left, is visible on a ramp at 16th Avenue School. Voters are being asked to approve a $5.8 million bond referendum.

ELMWOOD PARK — Walk through any of the borough's school buildings when it rains, and there will be buckets in the halls and classrooms, strategically placed under leaks.

And structural failings in the Gilbert Avenue Elementary School have forced the complete closure of one classroom, where a wall has since collapsed.

District officials say they desperately hope that voters will approve funding for those fixes, and others, when they go to the polls Tuesday because the borough's schools are all in some sort of disrepair.

The $5.8 million bond is a scaled-down version of the past two ballot questions put to residents in 2011 and 2012 — both of which were rejected.

During an impassioned plea before the Elmwood Park Borough Council last week, Schools Superintendent Richard Tomko said that "every school needs some sort of remediation, and will get it" if the referendum passes.

Energy-deficient windows in every building will be replaced, as will an acre's worth of roofing across the school structures. Crumbling exteriors will be addressed, toilets will be renovated, and mold and asbestos abated. Repairs are also planned for the heating and HVAC systems, and the referendum also calls for the construction of three classrooms.

If approved, work on the $10 million project could start as early as this summer. The state would provide $4 million in funding toward the repairs.

"Eventually, we're going to have to fix this stuff," Tomko said after the council's meeting. "Everything is falling apart."

Tomko said "there are no frills" in this referendum, adding "this work has to get done, and the state is willing to pay for 42 percent of the project this time."

If the ballot proposal passes, residents can expect to pay an average of $72 more a year in school taxes, to help fund the project.

At its Jan. 16 meeting, the council overwhelmingly supported the measure, saying that such a large amount of state aid would be hard to pass up.

"This is an important referendum for our town," Councilman Joseph Dombrowski noted.

In urging residents to support the referendum, Councilman Robert Colletti said he has toured the schools, and that "the buildings are in decay" and in need of major repairs to avoid potential "safety issues."

Councilman Stephen Martino urged residents to "skip dinner one time a year" and instead, support the school improvements.

"It comes down to 20 cents a day," Martino said. "If we can't come up with that, we should move because you don't belong in this town. It's not about money, it's about children."

Mayor Richard Mola also said that while he opposed previous referendums, "I am not against this one."

If the referendum fails, district officials said they plan to appeal the decision. A judge could overturn the vote, and then the full cost of the project will fall solely on taxpayers because the state aid would be rescinded.